SeeYou190 n012944 I don't really miss having a local hobby shop at all (there are none in the Jacksonville FL area anyway). Is Hurricane Hobbies still there? I know they did not have any trains, but they had a massive selection of paints, tools, and supplies. -Kevin
n012944 I don't really miss having a local hobby shop at all (there are none in the Jacksonville FL area anyway).
Is Hurricane Hobbies still there?
I know they did not have any trains, but they had a massive selection of paints, tools, and supplies.
-Kevin
Yes, they are still there. Since they don't bother stocking model railroad stuff, I don't bother them with my money.
An "expensive model collector"
n012944I don't really miss having a local hobby shop at all (there are none in the Jacksonville FL area anyway).
Living the dream and happily modeling my STRATTON AND GILLETTE Railroad in HO scale. The SGRR is a freelanced Class A railroad as it would have appeared on Tuesday, August 3rd, 1954, in my personal fantasy world of plausible nonsense.
I went to the Hobby Lobby on East Colonial Drive in Orlando today.
Two aisles of "hobbys", but an amazingly diverse selection.
Model trains, military models, coin & stamp collecting, woodburning, airbrushes, miniature rocketry, hobby paints, anime models, foam cutters, and on & on & on.
I don't remember that many different sub-sections in the hobby aisles.
AEP528But go ahead, continue to shop at Hobby Lobby, Ebay, and Amazon and whine on these forums that all the local stores have closed.
Perhaps you missed the part where I said that I've been going to Hobby Lobby after my local hobby shop closed. I use eBay after I can't find what I'm looking for at out-of-town hobby stores or train shows.
AEP528 I drive the extra distance, and yes, pay the higher (non-corporate subsidized) prices to buy from local hobby, craft and art supply stores instead of Hobby Lobby. But go ahead, continue to shop at Hobby Lobby, Ebay, and Amazon and whine on these forums that all the local stores have closed.
I drive the extra distance, and yes, pay the higher (non-corporate subsidized) prices to buy from local hobby, craft and art supply stores instead of Hobby Lobby.
But go ahead, continue to shop at Hobby Lobby, Ebay, and Amazon and whine on these forums that all the local stores have closed.
I do patronize my "local" hobby shops but they are an hour and 15 to 30 away. For most of us that is a reality. Going to shop one Saturday. But if I need a bottle of paint or glue etc I do buy at Hobby Lobby rather than make the drive. That being said there are some things that you wind up having to buy on ebay. I'm a narrow gauger on the VA/ NC border and it's rare here.
AEP528 But go ahead, continue to shop at Hobby Lobby, Ebay, and Amazon and whine on these forums that all the local stores have closed.
I don't go to Hobby Lobby, but I love eBay and Amazon. I don't really miss having a local hobby shop at all (there are none in the Jacksonville FL area anyway).
MidlandMike Speaking of combination hobby shops, I don't recall Hobby Lobby being brought up. Our town lost its last hobby shop, and I have drifted into Hobby Lobby when my wife was going there, and I actually picked up some useful hobby tools. They also have things like Woodland Scenics which are used in a number of hobbies.
Speaking of combination hobby shops, I don't recall Hobby Lobby being brought up. Our town lost its last hobby shop, and I have drifted into Hobby Lobby when my wife was going there, and I actually picked up some useful hobby tools. They also have things like Woodland Scenics which are used in a number of hobbies.
When Lady Firestorm goes on one of her what I call "yarn raids" (her hobby's knitting) to places like Michaels or Hobby Lobby sometimes I'll tag along. First, she's fun to watch! Second, I might just find something useful myself and frequently do.
The Hobby Lobby that I use (50 miles away) is not exactly the same as Ebay and Amazon. At Hobby Lobby, I can actually pick up and look at the items. They also employ local people.
There is a 'local' hobby shop about 55 miles away which I use. They often don't have the same types of things that I want from Hobby Lobby.
York1 John
My first hobby shop was Weaver's Bikes and Hobbies in Greenville Ohio. Dan Weaver became a very close friend of mine. Sadly he passed away a few years ago.
Joe
Went to Hobby Lobby more frquently when they had the coupons.
Our Hobby Lobby has a limited amount of model railroad merchandise, but they have a terrific paint, magic marker and tool section.
I find myself using our local hobby shop mostly, Great service, can order almost anythig, and when you add shipping to on line items, they are very reasonble. And a great place for asking questions!
SeeYou190 drgwcs Hobby Lobby used to have a very great hobby and train selection. I have noticed that not all Hobby Lobbys have the same sized hobby section. Here in Fort Myers ours has two aisles of hobby stuff, but the Hobby Lobby in Lakeland only has half an aisle. -Kevin
drgwcs Hobby Lobby used to have a very great hobby and train selection.
I have noticed that not all Hobby Lobbys have the same sized hobby section. Here in Fort Myers ours has two aisles of hobby stuff, but the Hobby Lobby in Lakeland only has half an aisle.
May vary according to store size. They used to have class A,B&C stores. Not sure if they do that anymore as most are the size of what used to be an A store. The ones nearest us are roughly the same size and have the same amount of hobbies.
drgwcsHobby Lobby used to have a very great hobby and train selection.
I'm actually working on a clinic on things that can be used from the craft store. Hobby Lobby used to have a very great hobby and train selection. My first job was running the hobby dept in store 5 when there were only 13 stores. We had quite a bit of train stuff probably the equivalent of one of their modern aisles although ours were shorter. We had Athearn Roundhouse and Atlas plus a bunch of woodland scenics. Even had a good selection of radio control. Quite a change from today but they still have a bunch that is usable.
Jim
MidlandMikeI have drifted into Hobby Lobby when my wife was going there, and I actually picked up some useful hobby tools. They also have things like Woodland Scenics which are used in a number of hobbies.
The Hobby Lobby here in town has Vallejo Model Colour paints at a good price with a pretty good selection.
I bought some stuff from Long's Drug Store in CA; they partnered with Intermountain on several special runs. I bought 24 Santa Fe reefer kits from them; still haven't built them 30 something years later.
drgwcs The most intriguing one though had to be "Classic Trains and Ferarris" although I would hate to see their pricing! What a way to subsidize a hobby shop.
Been there, in Paducah, Kentucky.
Their prices are high, but the Farrari selection is very limited. The owner drives an older Ferrari to work, but none were for sale!
Flintlock76 SeeYou190 For decades, the Ace Hardware store in Bonita Springs, Florida had an amazing display of Lionel Trains. Maybe they still do, but it is not on their website. -Kevin The next time I'm down that way I'll take a look, but honestly I don't expect to find any trains for sale. Unless it's a Menards I suspect the days of hardware stores selling trains around Christmas or any other time of year are pretty much over. The last hardware store where I saw trains for sale was Walker's Hardware in Totowa NJ several years ago, but they closed not long afterward. Too bad, they were a great old-time hardware store, more stuff in there than you could imagine. A friend who came along just to watch me train shop found something for his bathroom he'd been looking for and couldn't find anywhere!
SeeYou190 For decades, the Ace Hardware store in Bonita Springs, Florida had an amazing display of Lionel Trains. Maybe they still do, but it is not on their website. -Kevin
For decades, the Ace Hardware store in Bonita Springs, Florida had an amazing display of Lionel Trains.
Maybe they still do, but it is not on their website.
The next time I'm down that way I'll take a look, but honestly I don't expect to find any trains for sale. Unless it's a Menards I suspect the days of hardware stores selling trains around Christmas or any other time of year are pretty much over. The last hardware store where I saw trains for sale was Walker's Hardware in Totowa NJ several years ago, but they closed not long afterward. Too bad, they were a great old-time hardware store, more stuff in there than you could imagine. A friend who came along just to watch me train shop found something for his bathroom he'd been looking for and couldn't find anywhere!
At one time Ace Hardware had a partnership with United Model Distributors out of Chicagoland that they called "Ace the Hobby Place." That was roughly 20 years ago and United is long out of business. Out of curiosity I googled up that and there are a few left. That led me to Lionel of what combinations are still out there. They showed a little over 20 hardware stores as dealers. A combination store used to be pretty common to do hobbies too. I remember a drug store in Enid,OK that carried trains and believe it or not Lionel still listed a couple of drug/ hobby shop combos. Still a couple of camera/ hobbies stores on there too (of course including Colonial in Orlando.) Most of the camera stores and a whole lot of the independent drug stores are gone though taking out a lot of that possibility. There were still a lot of combinations with gift and craft stores. The most intriguing one though had to be "Classic Trains and Ferarris" although I would hate to see their pricing! What a way to subsidize a hobby shop.
First hobby shop. It was located in a small steel town of Phoenixville , Pa. "Bills Hobby Shop" it had plastic models and HO trains, just a hole in the wall hobby shop. That was in the late 60s' early 70s'. Loved that shop they even had a peanut roster in there.
I grew up in a small town, and in the 1950s this building was the drug store. In the back aisle of the store, there was a wall of trains and model cars and model planes.
Seeing the building now on Google, it sure seemed like it was a lot bigger back then. I'm sure the number of models was small, but to a kid, it was like a wonderland. I remember standing for a long time dreaming of buying a bunch of stuff.
Somewhere along the line, I changed from model trains (too expensive) to model cars. I remember that AMT was a favorite model company.
MidlandMikeWhile not my first hobby shop, there was an Ace hardware in Traverse City, Mich. that at Christmas would sell model trains.
That reminds me, when I was six years old (or so) my Dad went to a local hardware store around Christmas time and I went along with him. As was typical of the time this hardware store sold Lionels and there was a wall behind the counter FULL of them! Wow! To say that impressed me was an understatement! In fact, I've pretty much replicated what I saw as a six-year-old on the walls of my train shed.
As I understand it Mr. Menard is a fanatic O Gauger hence his involvement in retailing O Gauge trains, in fact I've been told Menard purchased all the modern era trains Williams tooling and dies from Bachmann. Beyond that I know nothing, Mr. Menard is kind of a "mystery man" who never grants interviews to the hobby press.
While not my first hobby shop, there was an Ace hardware in Traverse City, Mich. that at Christmas would sell model trains. They had a small O gauge layout, and as I remember, mostly sold O gauge. After Xmas they would be relagated to a back corner until sold out. New owners discontinued this anout ten years ago.
Now I see Menards home improvement stores (a midwestern chain and 3rd largest behind Home Depot and Lowe's) has a model railroad line of products. All this kind of reminds me of the old Madison Hardware. Another hardware owner who had a thing for model trains.
DonRicardo My current hobby shop is Centerline Hobbies on Cape Cod, near the Hyannis Mall. Excellent in service and stock!
My current hobby shop is Centerline Hobbies on Cape Cod, near the Hyannis Mall. Excellent in service and stock!
Mine too.
Pete.
My first hobby shop was not a hobby shop at all. Even though we had a large Lionel empire in the basement, my dad got us boys into slot cars. Once a week we would go into Cleveland to a slot car emporium to race on the big track. There they sold cars, parts, and accessories for the slot cars. In the back of the emporium there was a small HO scale layout. Looking and studying that layout is what really kicked off the model railroad bug. Sure we had the Lionel, but it really wasn't modeling. Then the plastic model kits bit me. After building many models of cars, trucks and a 1/16 scale funnycar that won several blue ribbons life took over.
The shops I remember the most was a Lionel shop in Akron. Owned by a grumpy old guy but had everything you could want in Lionel. And a large multi scale shop in the west side of Cleveland. Sorry but I can't recall the names. We're talking 50 to 60 years ago. I'm lucky to remember my name.
maxmanNot sure if I agree with this or not. If they keep their personal beliefs to themselves is one thing. If they hit you in the face with them is another. Local (non-hobby) place very close to me had a very large sign in front of their place supporting their political choice. Then when you went in they had what I would call a shrine to the same individual. No thanks. I'll get my tractor oil elsewhere.
Oh brother. I have to agree, if you're a retailer it's best to keep the politics OUTSIDE the front door, especially if you're a hobby shop. Most folks into this hobby look at it as a refuge from this crazy world we live in and don't care to be reminded of it in what should be "neutral ground." It's a mistake to assume we're all of one mind, which is why political discussions here are an invitation to an immediate thread-lock. ALL should be welcome no matter what their personal or political beliefs are. If you've got the "Stars & Stripes" hanging on the wall that's fine, it's everyone's flag, but go no further.